The club from Korea Republic will travel to China PR to take on the two-time champions on May 22 needing only a draw to advance to the knockout phase after handing the Australians a 4-0 defeat at Forest Arena in the penultimate round of matches.

But while a point will be enough to see Daegu FC join Sanfrecce Hiroshima in qualifying for the Round of 16 from Group F, Santos wants another win at Tianhe Stadium against Fabio Cannavaro’s side in two weeks’ time.

Having lost their past two games, both against Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Daegu had fallen from first to third in the standings and were in desperate need of a win at Forest Arena to reignite their hopes of reaching the Round of 16.

With the score at 2-0 and just 10 minutes to play against already-eliminated Melbourne, Kim received the ball just outside the right side of the penalty area, maneuvered into space and fired a stunning left-footed shot into the far top corner to secure all three points with arguably one of the goals of the tournament so far.

Edgar, Jeong Tae-wook, Kim Dae-won and Jung Seon-ho were all on target for Daegu and the K League side now trail Sanfrecce Hiroshima – who are guaranteed a place in the last 16 following their win over Guangzhou Evergrande – by three points.

However, the victory moved Daegu ahead of the former Chinese Super League champions by a point going into their crucial clash at Tianhe Stadium in two weeks’ time and a draw will be enough in that contest for the Korean FA Cup holders to advance to the last 16.

Sho Sasaki was credited with the goal that ensured Hiroshi Jofuku’s side would go through to the Round of 16 for only the second time in the club’s history and for the first since 2014 while Guangzhou will have to wait another two weeks to learn their fate.

Fabio Cannavaro’s side are now in third place in Group F, one point behind Daegu FC from Korea Republic, with the two clubs due to face off at Guangzhou’s Tianhe Stadium on May 22 in a game the 2013 and 2015 champions must win to stay alive in this year’s competition.

Syafiq Ahmad’s solitary goal 69 minutes into the game sealed a remarkable 1-0 victory for the Malaysian Super League champions, who became the first team from the country to win a game in the group phase of the AFC Champions League.

That it came against the reigning Continental kings – and without suspended striker Diogo – made it all the more significant and Mora was delighted with a performance that keeps the club’s slim hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds alive.

One of the games of the tournament so far witnessed some excellent attacking play as honours ended even and the fate of the sides remained in the balance.

Ali Asad and Akram Afif scored inside the opening 15 minutes and Omar Al Somah pulled one back for Al Ahli in the second half in Doha as the hosts sealed the three points to book their place in the knock-out stage with a game to spare.

With qualification confirmed, the 2011 AFC Champions League winners can now take a breather following a busy season in which they lifted the Qatar Stars League title for the first time in six years and reached the Emir Cup semi-final just four days ahead of their win over Al Ahli.